Rock Bridge girls finish strong against visiting Ozark

By Josh MosleyFor the Columbia Tribune

Tuesday

Jan 2, 2018 at 10:44 PMJan 3, 2018 at 2:33 PM

Coach Jill Nagel has pointed to an inability to close out quarters as a struggle for her Rock Bridge Bruins. For one game, at least, that struggle turned into a strength and helped the Bruins pull away from the visiting Ozark Tigers.

The Bruins outscored the Tigers 22-5 over a 12-minute stretch during the second and third quarters in securing a 57-50 win on Tuesday night.

Offensive rhythm eluded Rock Bridge for spots during the first half. The Bruins (9-3) struggled to get any dribble penetration during much of the first 16 minutes. The Tigers’ 2-3 zone packed the middle of the lane to dissuade Rock Bridge slashers, forcing the Bruins to keep the ball moving around the perimeter and be selective with field goal attempts.

“I mean, there are things that you know I'd like to have seen us do a little bit different offensively, definitely some dribble penetration that would have helped us against the zone,” Nagel said. “But at the same time, I don't want to force us into a turnover that we're just not comfortable in.”

Ozark’s focus on packing its defense into the paint allowed it to keep things close in the first half and earn a two-possession lead during the first half. Ozark guard Madi Braden’s 3-pointer from the top of the key prompted Nagel to take a timeout with her team down 22-18 with 2:20 left in the half.

The Bruins came out of the whistle with more offensive movement. The constant motion pulled the Tigers, who stood in their zone for much of the first half, out of that standstill and opened opportunities up for Rock Bridge.

“I think we just realized we needed to start stepping it up,” Bruins senior Payton McCallister said. “…We just collectively came together.”

Junior forward Maddie Collier completed a three-point play out of the timeout to pull Rock Bridge within a point, then sophomore forward Eryn Puett hit buckets on consecutive possessions to give the Bruins a 25-22 edge. Olivia Hanks drained a triple to pull the Tigers back even, but a corner 3-pointer by senior guard Katey Klucking as time expired sent the team into intermission ahead by three.

“I was pleased with the last two minutes of the second quarter because we hadn't been finishing the quarters very well on the last couple of games, so that was a good change,” Nagel said. Hitting a 3pointer "...going into halftime definitely gives you some momentum to carryr.”

The 10-3 run was a welcome sign to end a quarter for Nagel and ultimately bled into a third quarter that ended up being the difference in the game. McCallister, Klucking and Puett supplied the entirety of Rock Bridge’s 12-2 third-quarter edge.

The Tigers came up empty-handed from the field in the third, coughing up five turnovers and managing just two free throws. The Bruins also got a handle on Braden, who’d slipped free for a few open 3-pointers and eight first-half points; Rock Bridge made a point of losing her less in the third as Klucking and McCallister split time shadowing Braden.

“You know, there were too many times that she did get loose enough for open threes that I wasn't excited about, but you know, all in all, a good player is going to get points,” Nagel said. “She's going to get some points, but we just tried to limit the touches as much as possible.”

Ozark turned up its defensive heat in the final frame, challenging every Bruin inbound and passing lane to try and whittle down its double-digit deficit. The Tigers cut the 13-point gap at the end of the third down to as few as five points late in the fourth before Rock Bridge iced things away at the line.

McCallister scored 14 of her game-high 21 points in the second half, benefiting greatly from the Bruins’ more hurried pace. Klucking tallied 16 points, with 12 coming before the half, and Braden finished with 13 points. Macy Putt totaled 17 to lead the Tigers (4-3).

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